One Pot Thai Soup

Okay, so this soup is my FAVORITE recipe EVER. I first came up with it when I was exploring the different tastes of Thai food in my own kitchen. I should probably mention that I love everything Thai. The culture, people, food, I even have Thai inspired furniture in my apartment. Luckily, me and Nick are taking a trip to Thailand next year to get the most authentic taste hands on, and you can bet your butt I will be taking some cooking classes there. But for the mean time, I love this recipe.

It wasn’t suppose to be an easy one-potter, I just lucked out like that.

I make this about once a week in my home, and it’s a hit every time. I must say, working with rice noodles, you need to pay close attention to them. They will stick together, and not come apart, and then you have some thick, hard pieces of pasta in your soup. Or the opposite, they will over cook. Then you will have mushy soggy pasta in your soup. Neither is what you want, obviously. Just take a breather and make sure you are stirring often. Any noodles that are sticking together, try and separate them when you first put the pasta in so they don’t cook together. Taste a noodle every minute or so after about 5 minutes to make sure it’s not over cooking.

Now, this soup is also spicy. Not “holy moly I can’t talk spicy”, just “Oh wow, that has a kick” kinda spicy. Almost like chips and salsa at the Mexican restaurant. The coconut milk really mellows out all the sriracha you’re gonna use, so don’t be intimidated and use less spice or sriracha, trust me. If it becomes too spicy for you, I promise you can send me the hospital bill.

The recipe makes for about 6 people, but is great left over. Just make it all and enjoy throughout the week!

I LOVE pictures and comments, so please let me know what you all thought and how it turned out. As always, contact me with any questions or if you’re unsure about substitutions.

One Pot Thai Soup

1 tablespoon of oil

2 medium sized shallots

1 red bell pepper

1 small zucchini

5 cloves or 5 tsp of finely chopped garlic

3 tablespoons of red curry paste (you can find it in the Asian isle of most grocery stores)

1 tablespoon of ground ginger

2 tsp of dried red pepper flakes

2 tsp of sriracha seasoning (optional)

64 oz. (2 cartons) of good quality veggie broth

2 CANS of coconut milk (do not substitute this, you will not use all of the second can)

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

3 medium stalks of lemongrass

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/4 cup of sriracha (yes, 1/4 cup)

3 tablespoons of lime juice

2 tsp of salt

1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh Thai basil (you can find this in most grocery stores in the produce isle)

7 oz. (half a block) of firm tofu

4-6 oz of ‘Taste of Thai’ rice noodles (I use 6 oz, but I love a lot of pasta. 6 oz is about 3/4 of the bag, I don’t recommend putting more than that. I use Taste of Thai because the size of these rice noodles really work for this soup. Find in the Asian isle.)

Directions:

Start by chopping your shallots and garlic, make sure to really get the garlic as small as you can. Cut the red bell pepper into chunks, and cut the zucchini in small triangles by slicing 1/2 in. slices, then cutting into fourths. Add all to a large pot with oil, and set to a medium heat.

Cook your veggies for about 5 minutes until the zucchini starts to turn translucent.

Add veggie broth, brown sugar, and coconut milk (pay attention!) only adding one full can of coconut milk, and of the second can: 4 tablespoons of the coconut cream (on the top of the can), and 3 tablespoons of the coconut water (on the bottom of the can). Stir until sugar and coconut cream is dissolved.

Add lemongrass, soy sauce, sriracha, lime juice, and salt. Let sit on medium heat for about 25 minutes. While the soup is boiling, chop your cilantro and Thai basil. As well as cubing the tofu in medium sized cubes.

Add cilantro, Thai basil, tofu, and rice noodles. Stir occasionally and let the soup continue to boil for another 10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through.